Boxy CubeSats get a propulsion boost in new space race

Instead, Lozano and his colleagues will propel their craft with an unusual substance called an ionic liquid, made solely of positively or negatively charged ions. In the engine, a reservoir of ionic liquid soaks into a porous, metal chip and forms tiny pools in the pores of spikes on its surface. When a small electric field is applied, these pools morph into cones, which amplify the electric field so that it is strong enough to pull away ions in a steady beam (see below).